Alistair
by Pharisee
Summary: An amiable bond broken by unspoken feelings and one inebriated night. Now over a year later Yekaterina wishes to rekindle her friendship with Arthur, the father of her child. This is easier said than done however when she realizes that she still feels something for Arthur but he seems to be madly on love with another.
1. Chapter 1

Yekaterina (nickname: Katyusha) Braginsky - Ukraine

This is not an official name but a popular fan made one.

* * *

August 2012

The sound of heels making their way to the meeting room echoed in the hall. Yekaterina brushed her platinum hair back as her hand slowly ran against the cool metal of the door handle. She gave a heavy sigh as she pushed open the large doors and stepped in. The room silenced as she spotted the man she needed, Arthur Kirkland.

"Good Morning, Katyusha," the room then greeted, she gave a small smile and made her way up to the blonde man. She gave a cool sigh as her eyes met his.

"I didn't realize trading plans were being reported today," said Vash as he noticed Ivan, head of shipping and exports, quietly following his sister.

"They're not. Not yet at least," breathed Yekaterina a little nervously as she noticed how many people were staring at her. Heracles from tourism, Elizabeta from journalism, Roderich from music and entertainment, Gilbert and Ludwig from marketing, and even Vash and young Lili from the designing department were present.

"Arthur, there's something I've been meaning to get off of my chest. Perhaps it is best if we speak in private," her eyes widened as the words flowed from her mouth, she couldn't wait any longer.

"We are late enough as it is on starting this meeting," spoke Roderich, quite irate that they were behind schedule. "Whatever it is you have to say just say it quickly so we can move on."

"Yes, Kat," chimed in Elizabeta. "We all have very important matters to discuss and I hate to be rude but we've already wasted enough time waiting for Alfred who hasn't even arrived yet." Arthur blushed at the reminder of his boyfriend's constant tardiness. "Please hurry so we can get started."

Yekaterina's nerves heightened as she felt everyone's eyes pressure her to continue.

"Okay. W-well. Do you…remember a few months ago, at Alfred's party, before you two…" she stopped, unable say the words that she didn't realize she was so uncomfortable with.

"Y-yes, I remember," stuttered Arthur, still a bit shy about his relationship with Alfred. "As I recall you fell ill about a month afterwards and kind of avoided everyone. Are you alright?"

"Well," She paused and looked at her brother, Ivan, he nodded gesturing her to go on.

"Miss. Braginsky, please. We must leave soon," declared Ludwig.

This reminded Yekaterina that everyone was on a timed schedule and she needed to get her words out quickly. "The truth is," she gave a breath, "I had a son." The earth seemed to stand still as the people in the room grew shocked but before anyone could congratulate her, she continued, "and you are the father."

She didn't dare to take a look at him, fearing the worst, anger, maybe even regret. The room gave a tense aura as it grew even more silent. Arthur's eyes widened but his mouth stayed shut. He had nothing to say.

"Well look who fucked up now," came a loud voice from the back of the room, the source being Gilbert. He stepped forward and placed a hand on Arthur's back.

"It's ok man, I wouldn't want the child anyway, I mean you have your relationship with Alfred already." Ivan's large form started to rise from his seat, Yekaterina just gave him a small frown, with a tear following after.

"And how do you know what he possibly wants Gilbert?" she asked glaring at the albino male. He gave a laugh and stepped up closer.

"He's a man, in a relationship; no man would want a child bringing him down." Arthur remained silent and looked to the floor, "And besides, kids are a handful, they suck the time and fun from everything." Tears started to swell in Yekaterina's eyes, not from the words, but from the silence of the man she loved.

"Now wait a minu-"

"It's fine Ivan." she mumbled softly to her younger brother.

"Besides, you aren't fit to raise a child, you know nothing of it," she looked to the floor at his words. "Just look at how your siblings turned out, ones sociopath and the others a psychopath." Her head snapped up at his words towards her younger siblings. She could take his words towards her, but never to her family.

"And how would you know this? You never raised a child in your life!" bellowed Ivan. Anger boiled inside of her as her eyes darted from Gilbert to Ivan, hoping he doesn't killed the obnoxious man.

"I raised my brüder, that's how I know." He stood taller as he moved to the opposite end of her at the long table. The others watched wide eyed at the scene unraveling before them.

"Looked how he turned out!"

"He turned out great," yelled Gilbert trying to stare down the woman who was quickly getting on his nerves.

"No thanks to you," spat Yekaterina.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means he turned out so well because he basically raised himself." Gilbert inaudibly gasped and balled his hands into tight fists. "Oh, don't be so surprised Gilbert. We all know that you spent more time at the bars and strip clubs than with your own brother. Hell, the people in this room spent more time with him than you did and they are only cousins," she said referring to Roderich, Vash, and Lili's occasional family reunion at Ludwig's.

That had hit home for Gilbert, his little brother meant everything to him and he detested when his love and means of raising his brother were questioned.

"You have some nerve to talk about younger brothers! Ivan is a sick man who would sell anyone of us out in a heart beat just to make a profit. "He's only in shipping and exports as a cover for his underworld business and his black market trading. He doesn't know how to act normal or at least pretend!" Ivan gave a hurt look, but stood his ground as he moved his sister behind his large figure. She felt this burst of rage running through her body as she moved out from her brother and slammed her hands on the table before her.

"At least he has a use here. The only reason you have a job here is because Ludwig has convinced everyone to feel sorry for you! _'He lost his parent at a young age. It's not his fault he feels the need to act out. He had to grow up too fast.'_ How long will you let him make excuses for you!" her voice rang through the room. Gilbert's face grew red from his anger and ran to the woman. Ludwig jumped from his seat and grabbed his brother before he could reach her.

"You're a whore! Arthur would be a fool to accept a child from you! You're a terrible mother for doing this to him! A terrible mother and a horrible woman!" he yelled as Ludwig pulled him back to his chair.

"Shut up Gilbert," mumbled Arthur, finally saying something.

"You're going to take her si-"

"I said. Shut. Up." Arthur got up, his hair covered his eyes as he said the words to Gilbert. He made his way to Yekaterina and stared at her soft features as he sighed.

"W-why didn't you tell me?" he asked as he moved a strand of hair from her face. Her eyes went soft as the tears she'd been trying to hold back poured out.

"You were so happy with Alfred after I found out. I didn't want to ruin that. I wanted you to be happy." she looked down at her feet.

"I knew," Arthur said as he put his hand under her chin, "I knew you had a child." he said softly.

"Y-you knew?" she asked.

"I saw you a few months ago with a baby, you looked so beautiful, and happy. I-I thought you were with another man, I wanted you happy too, even if it wasn't with me." He said looking away; the last words were slightly above a whisper. The room watched in awe as he held her softly, Yekaterina crying quietly on his shoulder as she gently stroked her head to soothe her.

"What, what did you name him?" he asked pulling her away slightly to wipe her tears.

"Alistair Ivan Kirkland" she smiled, thinking of her son.

"Aww. How sweet. Congratulations Katyusha," cheered Lili before noticing her brother's eyes silently scolding her. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, Lili, it is my fault. I interrupted this important meeting for something so selfish that I should have confessed a long time ago," Yekaterina apologized. "Vash, I am very sorry for delaying your meeting."

"It is also somewhat our fault," stated Roderich. "We pushed you into confessing such a private matter in front of us. Please forgive us," he spoke as elegantly as ever.

"Yes, we are all sorry, and we are all very happy for you, Katyusha, but seriously, we have fifteen minutes left to conduct a meeting on what should've been discussed an hour ago. Arthur, please escort Miss Katyusha out and your business report shall be rescheduled for next month. I'm sure that will give you enough time to meet your new son."

Yekaterina and Arthur stared in quiet thanks as they hurried out of the room. Lili smiled proudly at her older brother. He shrugged her happy look away as he finally started the long awaited meeting, ignoring that Gilbert had slipped out of the meeting room.

"M-may I see him?" asked Arthur happily. She gave a happy nod as she turned.

They walked down the hall and to the lobby where Natalya sat, carrying a young child in her arms. She got up and gave the boy to his mother.

"He's going to be six months on the 20th." she spoke softly as she handed the child to his father. Arthur held him like he was made of glass, looking over every feature of the baby he created with the Ukrainian woman. His soft light blonde hair, almost white, his large green eyes, resembling those of his father, his rather large cheeks tinted a light pink hue. His smile, like his mothers, soft and welcoming. He felt tears well up in his eyes as he carried his child, which started to flow out as the infant reached his small hand up towards his father and caressed his face.

"Arthur?" a voiced called from the other side of the room. "What're you doin'?" Alfred asked walking slowly to the scene in front of him.

* * *

November 2010

"Damn that bastard. He constantly complains on how much he hates spending time with me and the day I decide to take Peter trick-or-treating, he gets immensely jealous. Now he keeps leaving passive-aggressive text messages and refuses to answer my calls. When the hell did he become my wife?" growled Arthur at his cell phone.

'_Found an old fashion antiques store full of supposedly magical items. I would've totally bought some of this for a "friend" of mine except he's too busy suddenly wanting to be a family man to hang out with me. #somepeople #allbritsareliars #thatscool #ihaveotherfriendsidontneedyou #ps #yourcrumpetstasteslikedirt'_

Alfred's twitter posts kept flashing on his phone's screen. He stomped down the sidewalk in hopes of finding someone who could stop his phone from echoing Alfred's stupidity. Stopping for a split second, Arthur contemplated going into the cell phone store across the street but decided that wasn't an option. Not after last time when he went in for simple instructions on how to change his ringtone and it ending with the entire store laughing at the "Miss New Booty" tone that rang when Alfred called. No, he needed someone who wouldn't absurdly laugh like an idiot when he asked a question about what he didn't understand. 'Eduard is good with technology,' he thought. Surely he could help and he wasn't a smartass so he wouldn't make fun of him. Although, he was so good at tech stuff that he'd probably look at him condescendingly the whole time. Arthur couldn't deal with that. Then who the hell was he supposed to get help from?

"Alfred you ass, even when you're not next to me you still manage to annoy me. Although I suppose it's my fault for letting you touch my cell in the first place."

Arthur shivered, noticing he had been walking outside in the snow without a coat or gloves. Damn it, Alfred was putting him through way too much crap. He stepped inside of the nearest shop, a small café, and searched for a free table. Unfortunately for the Brit, the café was unusually crowded. A table in the corner with a blond haired girl caught his eye. The busty, blued eyed woman looked familiar. A girl he went to school with although hadn't really spoken to since his first year at university when his friends bet him £30 that he couldn't get her number. It was easy money and Arthur quickly got the girl's number after learning that she was an exchange student with limited knowledge of the English language. He promised to call and show her around London but because of an idiotic and extensively long prank by Alfred, the paper her number was scribbled on was forever lost in the English Channel. He only occasionally spoke to her after that.

Arthur searched the café in hopes that a table had cleared up but no luck and he knew his only choice would be to sit with the girl. That was fine and all but he was a bit disappointed in himself for not remembering her name. It was something Ukrainian but for the love of God why couldn't he remember it? As he approached the table he noticed that she was crying and on the floor next to her lay a letter addressed to a Katyusha. Was that her name? Arthur had heard the name before but swore that she had called herself something else.

"Arthur Kirkland, is that you?" she asked in a thick Ukrainian accent that Arthur hadn't heard in years.

"Yekaterina," he remembered, "how are you? I haven't seen you in ages. Are you alright?"

She wiped her tears and gestured to the seat next to her. "Please, sit down. You look great, you haven't changed one bit."

"Thanks but are you sure you're alright? A pretty girl like you shouldn't be spending the day crying at a café." Yekaterina's heart fluttered as she recalled how sweet Arthur had always been to her.

"I am fine. I just went through a break up with a man I should've never even bothered looking at. What's worst is he didn't even do it in person." She picked up the letter and handed it to him. "I feel like all men ever want from me is sex and I'm tired of feeling like a piece of meat. Maybe I'm just dating the wrong guys but I feel like such a terrible girlfriend. Oh dear, what am I doing? I shouldn't be bothering you with my relationship problems. How have you been?"

Arthur was taken aback having heard Yekaterina's sudden confession but was more disgusted by her ex's letter. Turned out the guy had more than one girlfriend and he was married and he had to break up with her because he was going to jail for not paying child support. Arthur tore the letter a few dozen pieces and held Yekaterina's warm, soft hands in his.

"All men are pigs and none of them especially not that one," he glared at the torn letter, "deserve the light of day. You are beautiful and no man will ever be good enough for you. Don't be hard on yourself and if a man is dumb enough to only want sex from you then he needs to just go jump in front of as train and put himself out of your suffering." Why had Arthur said all of this, even he didn't know. For some reason he had always had a soft spot for Yekaterina and wished he could've been better friends with her when they were younger.

Yekaterina smiled and her tears stopped. "Arthur Kirkland, you are as kind as the day I met you. Why ever did we stop talking?"

Ivan threatening Arthur with a rusty pipe to leave his sister alone came to mind but Arthur shrugged the memory away. "I have no idea and I feel terrible about doing this so please feel free to say no but," the table shook along with Arthur's leg as his phone continuously vibrated with Alfred's angry twitter posts, "can you turn off the Twitter for me?"

Author's Note:

So I've noticed that I've been showing a habit of starting stories but never finishing them. "Don't Forget Me" should've been close to ending by now but due to terrible circumstances that won't be happening. This story however was originally created by my broski (ayuko15 dot deviantart dot com). Feel free to check out her dA account. This story started from a dream she had of Arthur impregnating Ukraine/Yekaterina and I helped her turn it into a much longer story.

The chapters will be written by the both of us so hopefully they will come out quicker than my other currently neglected stories.


	2. Chapter 2

Vanya – Common russian nickname for Ivan.

August 2012

* * *

"Arthur? What're you doin?" came Alfred with his mouth full of the greasy food he so much enjoyed. Alistair was in Arthur's arms, but he was quickly handed back to the Ukrainian woman.

"Alfred, I thought you said you weren't coming," Arthur said as he walked up to greet Alfred. Yekaterina turned her back with Alistair still facing his father, reaching out to him.

"Yeah, that was before I had my McMuffin, whose baby is that?" Alfred asked referring to child crying in Yekaterina's arms. He walked over and patted Alistair's head, looking down into unexpectedly familiar green eyes.

"Hey Kat," he said smiling to her, "Whose baby is this?" Her eyes widened and went from Alfred to Arthur, who was shaking his head as if to tell her not to break the news yet.

"Uh...he's...um…"

"Mine," chimed Natalya as she grabbed Alistair, who attempted to free himself from his eerie aunt's grasp. She gave Ivan a look and looped her arm in his, "Or, should I say ours, right, Vanya?" He did the same as his nephew and tried to escape his sister's iron strong hold.

"You two finally got together? Congratulations!" Alfred's naive mannerisms stopped him from asking anymore questions.

"NO! Nyet! It is not true!" denied Ivan.

"Oh come on, Ivan, stop being so modest. Let's see if I can guess his name. He looks like a...Nicolas, scratch that, more like an Alexei," Teased Alfred, knowing how much Ivan hated people insulting his home country's past. Ivan threw him a death glare. "Well I know it's not Joseph."

Just as Ivan was reaching for the soon to be bloody chair, Yekaterina interrupted. "Alistair," she said as she took him back her arms. "His name is Alistair and he is my son."

A knife struck Arthur's chest and his heart filled with guilt, her son. That's right. He was her son. It's true that Arthur gave the seed that became Alistair but he was never there for him. Not for his first laugh, not for his first taste, not even for his first diaper change. Alfred would have to know the truth but how could Arthur tell him he was a father when he didn't feel like one.

"Right, Arthur?"

"What?" said Arthur as he broke away from his thoughts.

"I said out of all the people to have a baby this early in life I never expected it to be Kat. So who's the father?"

"W-who indeed?" asked Arthur, trying to remain unsuspicious.

"A friend," answered Yekaterina while forcing a smile. "I'm at a very good and stable part in my life so I decided it was the best time to have a child. However, I do not have a partner and I didn't want to wait around for the right man to come into my life." She briefly stared at Arthur. "So I asked a friend if he would donate his...seed. He agreed and several months later I was blessed with this angel."

"Aww," cooed Alfred, "That's cute. I'm happy for ya, Kat. But what happened to your friend? Surely he didn't leave you to raise the baby by yourself."

"I am not by myself. I have my brother and sister. They are very helpful and Alistair likes being with them."

"Still, you're a young single mother, balancing work and a baby. At least tell me he takes care of the kid every now and then."

"W-well..."

"Don't tell me the guy doesn't even help you with the kid. He doesn't visit his son or care for him when you're working?" Yekaterina silently lowered her gaze. "Seriously? Please tell me he, at the very least, helps you out financially."

Tears began to form on the corner of her eyes. "N-n-no. He doesn't help. B-but...it's not his fault. Like I said, I am in a stable part of my life and-"

"That's not the point. If he at all cared you or his son then he wouldn't mind helping you pay for food and diapers."

"He only got me pregnant...it's not like he has to be with me. I asked him for this favor and promised to have no strings attached. I never asked him to be a father, just a donor. Besides, even if I did want to have a relationship with him, I couldn't. He told me he was madly in love with another person. That person doesn't know about Alistair and he is afraid of what could happen if his lover found out. I can't come between him and happiness just because I don't want to be alone." Her cheeks were wet and her breathing choppy.

"Kat, I-"

"Alfred!" yelled Arthur. His voice was louder than he expected and everyone turned to look at him. "It's none of our business to pry into Yekaterina's personal affairs. Since your here, you might as well get to work. Yao has been trying to schedule a meeting with you for the past week. It'd be rude to keep him waiting any longer."

"Oh, okay. I guess you're right," said Alfred, a bit taken back by the sudden commands. "Well I'll see you guys later." He waved goodbye to Yekaterina and her siblings and gave Arthur a quick peck on the cheek before running off to his office. Arthur looked down, not sure if that was something appropriate to do in front of his son. An awkward silence spread and Arthur contemplated excusing himself and leaving until he heard muffled sobbing. He saw Yekaterina was holding a hand on her mouth and trying to hide her tears.

Before Arthur's brain could process what was happening, his body moved and engulfed Yekaterina and Alistair into a warm hug.

"Arthur?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I'm so sorry," tears began to stream down the Brit's face. "If I had known what you were going through, I would've helped you. You wouldn't have had to do it as a single parent. You deserve a man who can take good care of you and Alistair, one who will always love and protect the both of you. Unfortunately, you got stuck with me. But," he pulled back and looked at her foggy eyes, "if you give me a chance, you won't regret it. I want to be a part of his life...and yours as well."

"You have no idea how happy that makes me," cried the woman as she was pulled back into the arms of her son's father.

"Those are very sweet words," said Ivan, ruining the heartwarming moment in front of him. "However, do you really intend to keep such a promise? You heard how Alfred feels about the man he thinks to be dear Alistair's father. How do you think he'll react when he finds out that you are that man? Will he not be suspicious when he notices that you are spending a significant amount of time with your friend's child?"

Damn, Ivan was right. How would Arthur explain everything? Just when Arthur was in a happy and stable part in his life, the universe decides to screw him over. He was so happy with Alfred but he had a child now and Yekaterina...well...he didn't know it yet but some past feelings still resided.

* * *

December 2010

Alfred and Matthew's Christmas Bash! All you can eat! All you can drink! Don't be late and Santa might give you a present. Spend this holiday season with the coolest bros this side of the hemisphere.

"Another Christmas Party, eh? I can't wait to see how Francis will ruin this one," said Arthur remembering the 2009 Christmas event.

"Is it that bad?" asked Yekaterina. "I heard Alfred's parties are the best. I've never been able to attend before because of work or family gatherings but it seems that Ivan and ,heavens, even Natalya are going."

"They're alright I guess. Nothing to get too excited over. They are very popular. No one else dares plan a party at the same time as Alfred. However, they're very predictable. Alfred will be very friendly and cheerful as he usually gets during this time of the year. Francis will very, very, very friendly. Tino will come dressed as Santa with Berwald carrying his sack. Elizabeta and Kiku will take millions of pictures. And by the end of the night, everyone will be immensely drunk and at least a third of the guest will wake up in bed next to someone they did not arrive with."

"Oh, my goodness. How interesting. I'm assuming you don't want to go then. Then it's pretty dumb of me to ask you to go with me then, huh?" she sighed disappointingly.

'Is she asking me out?' wondered Arthur. 'No way. Not Yekaterina. Sure we've hung out basically everyday for the past couple weeks but only as friends...right? But what if she was asking me out? Like on a date. Would this be a date? Am I allowed to bring a date to Alfred's party? What am I saying? Of course I am. But what will he say when he sees me with her? Since when do I care what he thinks? I don't! Screw Alfred. He's been acting like a wank for a month now. I'm going out with Yekaterina and that's final.'

"Yes," said Arthur a little too loudly. "I mean, no. I mean, I am going. So are you. So would you like to 'go together?" What the hell was he saying?

Yekaterina stayed quiet for just a second too long and Arthur was ready to apologize and awkwardly run off when she replied, "I'd love to go. It will be a date, yes?"

Yes. It was a date and Arthur couldn't be happier that he spent several hours preparing his outfit, a crisp, clean suit that was casual enough to party in but elegant enough to show he had class.

Yekaterina herself showed up in a ravishing evening gown that took everyone's, especially Arthur's, breath away. The gown outlined her body perfectly and it shined the same alluring shade of blue as her eyes. She was the most beautiful person at the party and she was at Arthur's side. No way could anyone or anything ruin this night for them.

Author's Note:

This chapter had been kind of sitting in my computer, half completed, for a couple months now and I had time today so I decided to finish it. The story is progressing a bit slower than I had anticipated so hopefully the next few chapters will be longer and more to the point.

I've been very bad at handling my stories this year and I sincerely apologize. I'm in the process of rewriting "A Summer Night Predicament" and the changes that follow will probably be pretty major.

Special Thanks to Maya Gordelia, AkuCintaTulip-kun, and YourUglyDuckling for reviewing and any others who are still here, waiting for an update that takes way too long to happen.


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